Last Week and Closing Activities in Cartagena

The fourth and final week of Intensive English Classes in Cartagena was crazy busy, but lots of fun! We were learning about the world, so by the end of the week the students were able to talk about colors, weather, and seasons. We also spent a good amount of time preparing for the final presentation for the parents. I was a little nervous about how everything would come together, but the kids impressed me with their performance!

On Saturday evening, all the parents came to the church to watch their children’s presentation. It was also a special occasion because Pastor Gustavo Lavia and his family came all the way from Madrid to be present for our show and to have a Divine Service on Sunday.

We started the program with a prayer read by one of the students thanking God for the day, for the friends we made, and for Jesus. The students then sang Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Father Abraham, and Jesus Loves Me (with Sign Language). They sang loudly and didn’t even need my help!

After singing, the kids were broken up into pairs and each pair had a conversation about something we had learned. Most of the kids memorized their conversation and talked about favorite foods, colors, family, weather, and future career goals naturally. The kids then performed a dance to the song Every Move I Make that I had choreographed and it was excellent!! I’m not planning on pursuing a career in dance choreography anytime soon, but they looked good.

Pastor Gustavo then delivered a short reflection about the investment we make in our children and how Christian values need to be taught to them and shown to our neighbors. Then students then received diplomas for completing the course. The diploma also carried the verse Deuteronomy 6:5-7:

                “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your                                strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

Important to think about that these ideas and values we learn are things that we carry with us at all times.

After the performance, we had a small reception for the parents that gave them a chance to have some snacks, look at the work their children did, and talk with us. This was a great opportunity to connect with the parents more and explain once again more about the work that is being done in Spain with the Lutheran Church and why it is being done.

On Sunday evening, we had the Divine Service. After not attending a real church service for five weeks, it felt nice for me. And once again, it made me realize how blessed I am to be able to go to church every week. 18 people attended the service! There were three families who had children that had participated in the English classes as well as another woman from the community and another family from the local school. Gustavo began the service by explaining that the Lutheran Church is a liturgical church and he explained why we do things the way we do. For each part of the service he gave an explanation and I think that helped a lot. I kind of think that should be done in the United States in Lutheran Churches too, so that people can be reminded of what we do and why.

The children who had attended the English Classes also sang Jesus Loves Me in the middle of the service, and it was really cool to see them participate and share what they learned.

At the end of the service, one couple who had a son in my classes expressed interest in having their son baptized in the Lutheran Church!!! This made me very happy that I was able to actually see God working in the lives of these people. Now I hope and pray that God will continue the good work He has begun and keep growing the seeds of faith that were planted. I know Cartagena is a part of God’s plan and I feel blessed to have been a part of it. 

Resumen de Cartagena

 El 17 de mayo, abordé un avión para venir a España y enseñar inglés a niños con la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana de España. Estaba muy nerviosa y no sabía qué esperar de los niños ni de la experiencia de vivir con una familia desconocida. Estuve en España el año pasado para estudiar en Asturias, pero sabía que este viaje sería muy diferente porque tenía una misión diferente. Después de conocer a unos jóvenes españoles y ver la situación de la iglesia cristiana en España durante el tiempo que estudiaba aquí, me di cuenta que poca gente tiene fe en Jesucristo. Yo quería participar y ayudar a difundir la verdad del Evangelio a través de la Iglesia Luterana.

Cuando llegué a Cartagena, conocí a una familia de Venezuela que es miembro de la Iglesia Luterana. Me abrieron su casa y me adoptaron como la hija mayor. Durante mi tiempo allí, me enseñaron mucho de la ciudad de Cartagena y la vida española, pero también me enseñaron mucho sobre la fuerza de la fe y el amor. Son los únicos luteranos en Cartagena, pero no están desanimados porque, como me dijeron, no estamos solos. Cristo está con nosotros siempre. En una ciudad dónde se cuestionan sus creencias cada día y existen muchas creencias diferentes, este conocimiento es muy poderoso.

¡Disfruté mucho la oportunidad de trabajar con los niños y de enseñar inglés! Al final, había 16 niños de las edades de 5 hasta 12 años. Algunos tenían niveles diferentes, pero creo que todos lo pasaron bien en las clases jugando y practicando inglés. Cada semana había un tema diferente. Aprendieron sobre la vida, la familia, la amistad y el mundo a través de historias de la Biblia, canciones, actividades y juegos. Siempre me gustó cuando los niños hablaban en inglés y participaban en conversaciones.

También, tuve la oportunidad de conocer a los padres y otras personas de la comunidad de Cartagena. Hay mucho interés en aprender inglés y por eso muchas personas me recibieron muy bien. También me hicieron sentir aceptada y muy cómoda. Hicimos muchas excursiones a las montañas, a la playa, al polideportivo, al centro de Cartagena y a un submarino. También nos reunimos para tomar un café o caminar por las calles. Podía practicar mi español y explicar mi razón de estar aquí y lo que estaba haciendo. Tuve muchas conversaciones interesantes que pusieron a prueba mi español y mi habilidad de defender mi fe. Espero haberme expresado bien y que el Espíritu Santo haya sembrado la semilla de la Fe.   

Para terminar las clases de inglés tuvimos un acto final. Los niños cantaron, tuvieron conversaciones sobre los temas que habían aprendido, bailaron y recibieron diplomas. Hicieron todo bien y yo estaba muy contenta con todo lo que habíamos logrado. El pastor Gustavo también pronunció una reflexión sobre los valores cristianos que tenemos y que necesitamos mostrar y enseñar a nuestros hijos y prójimo. Muchos padres se quedaron después del acto para conversar con nosotros y creo que recibieron un mensaje positivo y verdadero de lo que estamos trabajando y por qué.

El día siguiente tuvimos un Oficio Divino y 18 personas asistieron. Hubo tres familias de niños de las clases y otros contactos, una mujer y una familia. Los niños cantaron una canción que habían aprendido durante las clases de inglés (Jesús Me Ama). La cantaron con su voz en inglés y con sus manos en el lenguaje americano de signos. Fue muy bonito. Después del Oficio, ¡uno de los padres expresó interés en bautizar a su hijo! Esta noticia me alegró muchísimo.       

Al final, tuve una experiencia increíble en Cartagena. Nunca olvidaré la gente que conocí y las lecciones que aprendí. Mis pensamientos y oraciones estarán con la gente de allí. Espero que hayan aprendido mucho de inglés, pero más sobre el amor de Cristo por ellos. Confío que Dios seguirá trabajando en Cartagena y en España y me siento bendecida de haber sido una parte de su historia aquí.  

Tercera Semana: Friendship

Hola amigos!

This week we learned about la amistad (friendship) through the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus Calling His Disciples, The Last Supper, and the Golden Rule. My favorite part was probably when the kids played Human Bingo and had to go around asking questions to learn more about each other (age, school, favorite movie, color, food, etc.). It was during this activity that the older kids really helped out the younger ones to complete their Bingo card. I was glad to see that the kids were feeling more comfortable speaking and seemed to really enjoy sharing about themselves!

It was also really fun on the day when we read the story of Jesus Calling the Disciples, because we learned about jobs and occupations. We went around the circle and each person said, “When I grow up, I want to be ______.” Spain is going to have a few more dancers, singers, artists, cooks, architects, veterinarians (that was a hard word, haha), athletes, and teachers in the future. All English speaking of course!

After making friendship bracelets for each other, having a “last supper” together of grape juice and bread, and a good week of learning, I think we all have a better understanding of  friendship and how to love our neighbors.

I’ve also been making friends in Cartagena that I know I will be sad to leave. I have had some great conversations with people that have challenged my language abilities as well as my ability to defend my faith. In particular, I have one friend who claims to be an atheist. After talking to him more, I think he just has issues with his experience in the Catholic Church and the institution of religion. I was shocked to find out that he had never even heard of Martin Luther (different from Martin Luther King Jr.! J) or the Reformation. I thought he would have at least learned about it in a history class! But after talking to Loisys and Tony, they told me that in Spain the topic of the Reformation isn’t taught very well. It was interesting too because many of the troubles that my friend had were similar to Luther’s.

This experience really made me realize again how important it is to have missionaries here in Spain. I wasn’t expecting my friend to change immediately, but hopefully a seed was planted and God will make it grow.  

Now I will be beginning my last week of English classes that will conclude with a performance by the students and the Lutheran Divine Service. I’m praying we will have many interested people in attendance!

Segunda Semana: Family!

Time is going by so fast here. We are already halfway through the English classes in Cartagena!

This week was fun because we learned about family and the home. To be able to talk about their own families, the kids each made their own family tree. Complete with creative family portraits and English labels of course. We also learned various adjectives and actions to describe the family, which involved games of memory matching, charades, and Bingo with Golden Grahams. It turns out that Spanish Golden Grahams are just as tasty and motivational as American Golden Grahams. 

We also had a special week because it was Sebastián’s 5^th birthday! Loisys made an amazing cake and the kids got to sing Happy Birthday in English and drink decaffeinated pop (we’re not crazy enough to give them sugar AND caffeine). It was interesting for me to learn that there are so many different versions of Happy Birthday in Spanish that they usually just sing in English to avoid confusion.

The amount of students in the class has been growing and there are now about 15 kids that come! I think the word is spreading and now that the school year is winding down here, people have more time. So now there is an age range from 5 years old to 10 years old in our class. Some of the students are at different levels, but the activities have been pretty easy to adapt for each of them. Some kids just need a little more help. But what’s very encouraging is when the older kids begin to help the younger ones! Especially yesterday, when we were learning about being good neighbors to each other, we were doing a speaking activity that some of the younger kids were struggling with. A couple of the older girls stepped up to help and explain things so that the younger ones could complete the activity.

I’ll have to write more about this week later!

God Bless!